A walk in April with the asbos

Scrabble, Gata and Tata all a'twitch with exciting spring smells

Oil seed rape growing in the field behind us

The motorway outside our gate

Great view of the soft rolling Downs. In the distance is Lady Hamilton's Folly 

over the way from Uppark

Early May blossom always makes me think of poor Anne Boleyn

Cowslips nodding if not mooing a welcome by the gate

Bluebells ringing in Spring

A rather lovely little virginal bluebell all in white

An  early campion

I think this is a tiny little hardy geranium

Darling primroses

More shocking pink campions

Violets my grandmother's favourite little flower. Can't imagine why anyone would want to cover them in sugar and eat them..they are so pretty to look at.

This old ash tree is like a great hand coming out of the earth

Ahh lovely wild garlic...ramsons

I wonder what kind of fungi this is..looks like it would make a good black ink..so long as one didn't put the brush anywhere near one's mouth!! Ykk

They almost look as if they could crawl away!

This post is at the corner of our field

Deer slots in the claggy mud

May blossom

Baby camomile with what seems to be rabbit droppings by the side..

So love when the spring flowers start to bloom

Gardening on the South Downs..March/April 2015

Spring is stirring. The branches of the trees are still pretty much naked. The white rowan in the fore ground was planted for Isabelle who as a young girl danced ballet..it looked as though with its little white berries gleaming, it was holding up its arms in a delicate arabesque.

Fennel self seeds everywhere and will I know soon dwarf the rosemary. I'm thrilled to see the foxglove seeds I planted have turned into lovely plump babies this year. Foxgloves or Digitalis are definitely one of my very favourite plants...such a delight to find growing in woodland often with sensuously curling ferns nearby.

My funny birthday gift lady gnome is standing clutching her basket in amongst the onions and feverfew.

Rhubarb got itself off to a good start. Poor thing I don't actually do much for it..except give it a drink if it asks. The crumble it gave me a few weeks ago was sensational...and last years rhubarb and ginger jam still tastes wonderful.

I laid out an array of wedge shaped beds a few years ago to wrap around the lime trees in the middle of the garden...sadly the last few seasons I have had no time at all but this year decided to make a real effort early enough in the year for it to make a difference...and hooray my sister-in-law Margarita came to stay and amazingly gave me a hand. The kindly kept working while I dragged myself to the computer to work 'work'.

The grasses and wild flowers so short and contained in this image are now so tall it's getting hard to walk through them...The whispering aspen tree sends out suckers I suppose they are... that happily grow where they can.In the distance is a ginkgo.

Weeding between the beds has helped enormously...early days so the weeds have hardly started to grow.

Adding seeds beds in the form of containers...

The thistles and nettles and of course docks grow thick and greedy..I refuse to put down weed killer so these are on the list to pull up by hand.

Big bruisers..their bark is worse than their bite as they come up out of the ground really very easily.

As seeds are now in the ground the cross chooks are confined to their run..but it is hardly small or too boring for them. Lots of shade and areas to scratch and ferret in.

Cuttings from last years pruning of the beech tree hedge..dragged out to enable gradual burning in the log burner.

Potatoes are in and tucked up warm..with some of Michael's lovage to keep watch over them.

Chooks meanwhile keep an eye on me and petition every day to be let out...petitions denied!! Until after harvest.

Meantime the front garden starts to come to life...the path to the postbox.

A Spring walk along the Downs May 2014

Cowslips just by our gate

Dead Nettle soft and gentle unlike their stinging cousins

Wild Garlic or Ramsons that Ross McNicol makes delicious meals from.and this recipe pinched from River Cottage isn't half bad too;

• 100g freshly picked wild garlic leaves
• 50g shallot, spring onions or leeks
• 50g shelled walnuts
• 200 ml olive oil, sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
• 50-60g mature hard cheese (Quick’s goats cheese , Parmesan or similar hard, mature cheese), finely grated
• ½ - 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar

•  Directions
  Start by picking the leaves over and discarding any coarse stalks, damaged leaves or any stray pieces of grass (you don’t need to wash unless you’ve picked from road side verges). Place in food processor along with walnuts, shallot and 150 ml oil. Blitz for about a minute until the everything is finely chopped up. Fold in the grated cheese, salt and sugar Fill into clean sterilised jars to within 5-7 cm of the top of jar. Make sure you press down firmly with the back of a spoon to remove any pockets of air (trapped air can cause contamination) allowing sufficient room to swirl the remaining oil over the top of the pesto to seal the surface. When you come to use the pesto, stir it well before spooning out. Make sure the surface of any pesto remaining in the jar is completely covered with oil before you return to the fridge. (this is very important if it is to keep well).

The oval shaped and strongly flavoured leaves of wild garlic (Alium ursinum) are one of the first wild foods of the year we can get out there to harvest. Usually found in moist, wooded shaded areas the leaves are easily identified by their typical and overpowering aroma (smells of garlic) and are sometimes referred to as Ramsons. This spring pesto is full of gutsy flavour and can be used with pasta, spread on crostini, served with crudités used in omelettes, swirled into soups and stews. Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks – this recipe makes 5 x 200g jars, so any extra can easily be frozen in small containers so you can go wild with garlic throughout the year.

Thanks PamJam

Dandy Lions make tangy salad leaves too..when I was little we'd chase each other squealing.."Wet the bed wet the bed" It was only later I found they are diuretic!

The stinging nettles nestled amongst them also make great veggies and lovely soup.

 Red Campion always look so pretty

A lady bird on early cow parsnip. My horse loved to munch on this if he could grab mouthfuls as we strolled along.

I think that's Speedwell hiding shyly

A wonderful, stinky swirl of wild garlic in the woods with bluebells nodding amongst the pungent white flowers

Bluebells dingaling

Forgetmenots and campion

And home to apple blossom so sweet even though it is rather boring Golden Delicious..there are other more scrummy kinds in the garden but these are good too.